PURPOSE: To assess longitudinal associations between pterygium, pinguecula, and 5-year incident cataract. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. METHODS: The Blue Mountains Eye Study examined 3,654 residents aged > or =49 years during 1992 to 1994 and reexamined 2,335 (75.1% of survivors) 5 years later. Slit-lamp examination recorded pterygium and pinguecula. Cataract was assessed using masked grading of lens photographs. Incidence was assessed in participants without cataract at baseline. Eye-specific data were analyzed using generalized estimating equation models, adjusting for age, sex, smoking, diabetes, and corticosteroid use. RESULTS: Pinguecula was associated with a borderline-significant, increased risk of developing cortical cataract (adjusted odds ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 1.7). We found no significant association between baseline pterygium and the incidence of cortical, nuclear, or posterior subcapsular cataract. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal data from the same study population provide weak support for cross-sectional associations between pinguecula and cortical cataract previously reported from our study.
PURPOSE: To assess longitudinal associations between pterygium, pinguecula, and 5-year incident cataract. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. METHODS: The Blue Mountains Eye Study examined 3,654 residents aged > or =49 years during 1992 to 1994 and reexamined 2,335 (75.1% of survivors) 5 years later. Slit-lamp examination recorded pterygium and pinguecula. Cataract was assessed using masked grading of lens photographs. Incidence was assessed in participants without cataract at baseline. Eye-specific data were analyzed using generalized estimating equation models, adjusting for age, sex, smoking, diabetes, and corticosteroid use. RESULTS: Pinguecula was associated with a borderline-significant, increased risk of developing cortical cataract (adjusted odds ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 1.7). We found no significant association between baseline pterygium and the incidence of cortical, nuclear, or posterior subcapsular cataract. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal data from the same study population provide weak support for cross-sectional associations between pinguecula and cortical cataract previously reported from our study.